The Reason
by Firiel Leijon
Summary: Humanstuck, Rose abandons her abusive home to move in with someone she barely knows. A broken past can stitch itself to you in many ways, as can good memories and hopes for the future it all depends on which stitches you stretch. You just need a reason to continue on. (Rosemary fluff)
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Homestuck or it's characters in any way shape or form... though I wish~ Read and Review! **

The frigid winter breeze howled down an empty street, sending snowflakes dancing through the evening sky with the lights of the streetlights. Rose Lalonde stood at the window facing the street, clutching a steaming mug of tea to her chest. Shivering slightly, she drew her over sized green sweater closer around her shoulders. Rose turned on her heel, narrowly missing tripping over a small feline roaming the floor.

"Jaspers, you really must avoid slinking around places I may step." The feline purred and twined himself around her legs before jumping on to the windowsill.

"Merf" The black tom sauntered along the windowsill to see what she had inside her mug and eyed the beverage suspiciously.

"Yeah no luck here, Buster, you are not coming anywhere near my tea." She grinned at Jaspers, scratching him behind the ears, causing the little feline to purr loudly. The living room where Rose now stood was a little on the small side but still was quite roomy and comfortable feeling. Though the main reason she could afford an apartment was sharing the place with a roommate. 2 small bedrooms, living room, 1 bathroom, a miniscule kitchen and bathroom. It may not look like much with the peeling paint and musty looking beige carpets, but after everything gets organized it will surely be a large improvement.

The move and in Rose's opinion had been exceedingly necessary. Rose's mother, a heavy alcoholic, had controlled and loomed over Rose for far too long in her opinion. Between the screaming matches and broken bottles Rose had decided the second she became legal to leave home she would be gone without a single trace. Her elder sister had done the same 3 years before. Roxy had been Rose's shield from their mother since a young age but as Rose grew older she in turn had her moments when she placed herself in front of her mother shielding Roxy, from the always unexpected wave of fury coursing through their deranged parental figure. Their Father died in a drive-by shooting when Rose was less than 4 years old. Something had snapped in Ruby Lalonde's heart sending her on a downward spiral of alcohol and prescription drugs. Roxy left one morning without even saying a word to their Mother or Rose. Roxy's abandonment really hit her younger sister hard and she received the brunt of Ruby's drunken frustration often having to cover up bruises and cuts from the world.

Rose was an honor student at Aspen High, with exceptional grades and an excellent standing with her teachers and peers. Forced to smile and pretend her life wasn't crumbling into rubble. Often escaping on to the internet and pouring her depression into works of literature. She was quite well-known in the realm of fanfiction for her heart crushing angst ridden stories. The day she had saved enough cash from her part-time job as a cashier at a bookstore at the local mall. Mystery Loves Company was a fair-sized bookstore with only a few employees, although the manager had taken a liking to Rose's diligent work habits and was regularly gave her a bonus since she spent the most time there behind the till.

In order to get a roommate, Rose had reluctantly placed an ad upon Craigslist and gotten multiple replies from a multitude of different people. After a great deal of humming and hawing she had settled on moving in with a girl by the name of Kanaya Maryam. they both agreed to share the rent in the small apartment in the south-east part of the town known as Wynder.

So that is how it all played down to November 15th. Rose had arrived first in her treasure of a car, a silver 67 Ford Fairlane. All of her worldly possessions and her cat. She happily decided to leave her past behind her and dive head first into a new life. A sharp click of a key within a lock shook Rose out of her memories. Jaspers' ears perked at the sound and within a second he was off the windowsill and tearing down the hallway towards the sound of an open door. Rose's lavender eyes widened with fear,

"Stop that Feline!" She called out before chasing the little furry bullet down the hallway. A very shocked looking girl half fell half jumped against the door shutting it. Jaspers slid to a halt in front of the girl. The girl, Kanaya I suppose, slid down to the floor. With her green eyes wide open with surprise. She spoke in a soft yet even tone,

" Well Miss Lalonde, that is certainly a way of greeting your new roommate I have never thought possible. By the way may I inquire this little fellow's name?"


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Homestuck or its characters in any way shape or form... though I wish~**

" Well Miss Lalonde, that is certainly a way of greeting your new roommate I have never thought possible." Kanaya chuckled, running her delicate fingers through the purring cat's fur. "By the way may I ask this little fellow's name?" She gestured to the feline currently smearing his face all over her. Rose smirked and leaned against the wall of the hallway.

"First impressions are always the most important, are they not?" Rose extended her hand to the girl," That little fuzzball is known as Jaspers or as you get to know him better, 'That little shit' it's your call really."Kanaya smiled, grasping the shorter girl's offered hand and allowed herself to be pulled onto her feet. Kanaya towered over Rose, who barely made it to her shoulder.

Kanaya stood 5'8 to Rose's height of 5'3, a significant height difference in the blonde's opinion. Jaspers wound himself around both their legs meowing and mewling demanding to be held. Kanaya scooped up the protesting feline to place him on her shoulder. Who quickly abandoned protesting in favor of purring while flopped on her shoulders impersonating a fluffy scarf with claws. Both girls smiled at the smug feline, before meandering down the hall to scope out the house together.

Kanaya's solid green eyes seemed to capture all the room yet focus on nothing in particular. Her eyes darted from the hideous flaky wallpaper to the musty carpet finally to rest her gaze upon Rose's appraising look.

"It is not as what I had pictured, but I am positive we can recreate it with a fancy and modern flair." Rose tilted her head and she could swear that she could see the wheels spinning in this girl's head. _I hope to god she won't mind, the cat's ability to destroy wallpaper. Hmm no paint would be a better idea. _Rose made a mental note to mention paint to Kanaya.

"I agree, Kanaya. However, do you wish to choose your room now? I am fine with either of them." She gestured down the hall. " The rooms are both quite small but can be a quite comfortable living spaces given time and effort." Jaspers erupted into a deep rumbling purr as the raven scratched the underside of his jaw line with a delicate finger.

The apartment was laid out in a rather peculiar way; the bedrooms were side by side with a connected door both, across the hall from the bathroom and living room. The kitchen was next to the bedrooms and doubled as a dining room. The kitchen was a faded dandelion yellow, with a red trim. A perfectly hideous combination according to the raven. The bathroom was missing 2 tiles next to the sink. Both bedrooms contained a rather sad-looking door to the balcony, that looked big enough to only support potted plants and maybe a fold up chair if you were lucky.

Kanaya chose the room farthest from the door with a small window lighting up the room better than the dinky little light-bulb in the ceiling could even attempt to. Jaspers purred throughout the entirety of the tour of the household, comfortably watching from his perch upon the raven's shoulder.

"My belongings should arrive any moment now." Kanaya spoke as she removed the feline from her shoulder to place on the floor. "In the mean time would you appreciate a hand in shifting your paraphernalia to your room, Rose?" The blonde stretched and felt a satisfying crack as the vertebrae of her spine aligned once again.

"Why of course, thank you for your offer." Rose knelt to grasp one of the boxes containing her clothing. In an instant the flimsy bottom of the box fell open, clothing and a framed photo fell to the floor.

"Oh shit, I suppose more duct tape would have been most helpful." Rose grumbled and loaded her arms up with her clothing. Not noticing the fallen picture.

Kanaya plucked the photo from the floor and looked at it. A beautiful blonde woman was resting her head on a tall man's shoulder with black hair and a fedora. Two young girls seemingly aged 4 and 7 hugged each other as the camera captured their happiness. A goofy grin on the smaller of the two girls as she clutched her older sister. A small handwritten message was written in bright pink ink upon the backside of the photograph.

**I love you Rosie, you were always the best sister I could ask, for please forgive me. Love Roxy. **

Kanaya looked from the photograph to Rose's retreating figure down the hall. She left the photograph standing up on the kitchen counter and grasped a box to follow Rose down the hall.

The room Rose had chosen contained faded pink carpet, and surprisingly white walls with little to no chipped places. She still needed to put a couch or a bed in as she couldn't really bring her mother's couch without being noticed. She had a collection of quilts and pillows she piled into the corner of her room.

_I suppose this will do for now, _Rose thought piling her boxes in the corner opposite the window. She surveyed the space mentally arranging it to suit her desires.

Two boxes of clothing, another rather large box full of books, Jaspers' stuff, enough quilts to build a rather impressive fort, and a rather colourful collection of yarn and knitting needles. Still to be obtained she noted; A bed/couch, chest or some nice place to keep her belongings, a bookshelf, and maybe if she felt like being especially extravagant maybe a not-so-shitty laptop.

Kanaya deposited the load she was carrying upon the floor next to the impressive collection of yarn. Jaspers hurled himself through the door into the yarn box causing mayhem and destruction to the previously tidy amount of yarn. The blonde knelt and retrieved the feline from the mess and closed the box before the little black puffball could dive back into the nest of wild and soft yarn-balls.

"I see you enjoy knitting," Kanaya raised an eyebrow and gestured to the box of knitting supplies,"Is it a difficult skill?"

"Once you get the hang of it, it's as simple as picking flowers," Rose shrugged, "it's a rather enjoyable hobby of mine, if you would like I could teach you at some time."

A sharp knocking announced the arrival of Kanaya's belongings, Jaspers shot the down the hallway like hell hounds were salivating on his tail.

"OH SHIT! JASPERS!"

Kanaya bit her lip to try to encase the giggle fit as her new roommate tore down the hallway after the cat, thinking;

_I believe we will soon have a wonderful guard cat at this rate._ Kanaya listened to Rose's apologies to the person at the door.

_This will surely be an interesting beginning to a new life. _

**Another chapter I dunno if it was worth it but read and review~  
****_(Her beta-ish person says it was, review and prove it to her.) _**


	3. Chapter 3

After locking a protesting feline in the bathroom, stairs plus boxes plus cat would end in nothing but pain. Rose and Kanaya helped the two delivery men shift Kanaya's belongings into the living room. The movers had tried to insist that they didn't require assistance but Kanaya shook her head arguing that it would get the job done faster. The two tall blond males finally relented, sauntering down the hallway to the impressive set of 4 flights of stairs. The girls remained close on their heels, upon reaching the ground floor Rose made a mental note of the far too numerous stairs and their unpleasant steepness.

A sizable moving truck was parked near the complex entrance, large white with a rather colourful and unique amount of plush creatures littering the dashboard of the truck. Scrawled across the side of the van was the rather ironic name for a moving company with a rather peculiar pattern of hoof prints and bird feathers.

Stationary Striders' Moving Co.

The movers were quite amusing to work with, both brothers were cool enough to have a dorky feeling to them. Tall blond with matching anime shades, the 'Striders' made a great deal of carrying the boxes with ease although many seemed to contain a great deal of weight. Each trip up and down those goddamn stairs was enough exercise than Rose had bargained for. Kanaya's belongings at least were light and packed within multiple small sized boxes. Well the number of boxes was quite something.

The boys made decent conversation, the blonde and the raven soon learned that the younger brother brother was Dave and the older more stoic brother was known as Dirk. Kanaya and Rose both introduced themselves managing to multitask and ignore the sound of the yowling feline desperately wanting out of his confining prison.

The Striders happened to live just a few streets down in one of the higher floors of a rather old looking red brick apartment that occupied around 400 individuals.

The shades were a little ridiculous but neither of the girls felt the need to say a word only sharing a look and grin. Dirk spent a great deal of time sneezing, apparently cat hair isn't always the best way to decorate a home. Never the less the job got completed, Kanaya fished around her purse paying the boys and giving them a fair tip.

Both brothers muttered farewell before sauntering back down the hall, with Dirk whistling softly before body checking his brother into the wall. sprinting down the hall and leaping down the stairs without looking back Dave bellowed insults and flew down the hall after his retreating sibling. The girls slowly closed the door and locked it before turning to each other and bursting out into hysterical laughter.

"D-Did you see his face when he hit the wall?" Rose gasped out between laughing, needing to lean against a wall to prevent her legs giving out.

"I was too busy looking at his RIDICULOUS shades." Kanaya's entire body shook with laughter, as she wiped tears of laughter out of her eyes with a hand. Rose felt all her worries regarding her new roommate evaporating as they bonded over the hilarity of the previous events. They released the black furball who shot towards to door and skidded to a halt at the sight of the closed door. He purposefully stalked between the grinning females and sat with his back to them.

"Stuck up little thing aren't you?" Kanaya knelt to pet the cat between his ears. As much as you could see he was determined to stay mad, his eyes closed with a rumbling purr erupting from this chest.

"Well that was a long and well planned out grudge now wasn't it?" Rose nudged the purring fluffball with her foot, who in return grumbled good-naturedly before sauntering down the hallway with his tail swishing through the air.

"Oh Sassy~" Kanaya wiggled her eyebrows.

"Well Shall we transport your belongings around your room and get setting up this apartment as a home instead of a run down apartment?" Rose bit her lip trying not to laugh at the eyebrow wiggling. The sound of claws on wood averted their conversation,

"You little shit!" Their unified cry sent the cat flying down the hall with his tail puffed up and a wild gleam in his eyes.

Rose's eyes widened in realization, Oh my god! He found the Catnip... may god have mercy on our furniture...

**I thank my beta for her skills and such, read and review! **


End file.
